It is All Connected

The leg bone’s connected to the knee bone,
The knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone,
The thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone,

Last week, I saw a client for whom back issues were a major part of why he came to me. (That and having been bought the treatment by his partner!)

Like I hope most practitioners, I always ask for feedback at the end of a session. He told me that he was really surprised that what seemed to help most was the work on his legs.

I know from experience that work on a part of the body other than where the identified problem is often makes a massive difference. Partly this is because for example, a muscular problem in the legs can upset posture and affect the back, neck and shoulders. In fact a muscular problem almost anywhere can affect muscles elsewhere in the body.

Other connections that are important are those through the blood stream and the hormonal system of our bodies. Massage in itself, relaxes the body and changes levels of a number of hormones in the body, cortisol being just one of them and of course, the central nervous system. And the systems themselves interact with each other.

This is why, while my preference is for a treatment to be a full body massage, I am more than happy, if a client wants me to miss out part of the body for any reason that is absolutely OK. They will still benefit from a massage enhanced by the use of essential oils. However, in the case of the client I mentioned above, if I had a client with the same issues who didn’t want me to massage the backs of the thighs, I would almost certainly advise some stretching exercises as tight hamstrings are often a contributory factor in lower back pain.